


Big Bad Wolf

by mnemosyne23



Series: Werewolf and Vampire Firefly AU [1]
Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Werewolf, so AU it needs its own zip code, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 20:08:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnemosyne23/pseuds/mnemosyne23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU 'verse. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? The vampire girl with silky black hair? Not in a million years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Big Bad Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote years ago and have posted elsewhere, but I'm just now getting my AO3 archive in order, so if you've never read it before, it's new to you! ^_^
> 
> I was watching _Underworld_ at the time I wrote this, and the idea for this story hit me like a ton of bricks. Honestly this is just my greedy opportunity to write vampire/werewolf porn, because I've always wanted to. *giggle* Enjoy! And if you want to write some more... Well, I wouldn't be adverse to reading it. ;)

**PROLOGUE**  


  
  
  
Werewolves hated vampires. It was part of what made being a werewolf so much fun. There wasn't much that fell above vampires in the food chain, and being one of those things had a certain thrill factor to it that nothing else could match.  


  
Truthfully, werewolves weren't much above vampires on the food chain; if anything, they were on a level playing field. But Jayne wasn't like other werewolves. For one, he was bigger. Werewolves were always big, but Jayne had been a big man before being bitten, and the resulting wolf reflected that. Second, he was mean, and he knew how to hold a grudge. There were some grudges he'd been holding for centuries now, even though the people he held them against were long since dead and gone. Since he couldn't hurt them, he figured he might as well hurt _something_ , and vampires were as good as anything.  


  
Third, he really, really hated vampires.  


  
They made his teeth itch, especially the male ones, with their hoity-toity, high and mighty fashion and manners. As if they weren't just walking corpses; as if they were anything but articulate zombies. They treated werewolves with disdain, like dirty animals; like livestock. At least Jayne had a real heartbeat, not the phantom echo of a heart that had died years ago. At least the blood that pounded through Jayne's veins was _his_ blood, not the borrowed blood of his latest kill. At least he had body heat, and could walk in the sunlight, and could eat as much garlic as he gorram pleased. In fact, on nights when he wanted to kill a vampire, he'd eat a bulb of raw garlic, just to add that extra bit of pain as he ripped their damned throats out before tossing them on their own perfumed fires to burn.  


  
The vampires didn't treat him like an animal anymore. They treated him like a monster, and he liked it. Served them right, the snobbish sons of bitches. And that was an insult to respectable bitches.  


  
He found the girl in an alleyway during his nightly prowl, reeking of rats and unwashed skin. The smell was almost enough to mask the unmistakable scent of vampire that infused her body. Such a potent combination of odors led him straight to her, weaving his way through the maze of streets that made up Capital City.  


  
She was huddled behind a dumpster, wearing a dirty dress that hung in tatters off her skeletal frame. _Too young_ , was his first thought. _Too young to have been turned_. She couldn't have been more than seventeen when she'd been bitten, which judging by the smell of her had been about sixty years ago. She was still a baby in vampire years; it made him wonder where her sire might be. If he was going to kill a vampire, he wanted it to be one that had at least been around for a century or three.  


  
There was no point killing her: she was a girl for one, and she was going to die anyway. It was obvious she'd been subsisting on rats and the occasional pigeon; not every vampire that got turned was able to handle the prospect of having to suck a creature's blood to survive. Judging by the sharp bones in this one's face, she'd even stopped eating the rats. A vampire couldn't starve to death, but eventually she'd be too weak to move, and the sun would take care of her. Sunlight was a vampire's favorite method of suicide.  


  
He was about to turn and leave when she said, "Puppy?"  


  
Immediately he felt his hackles rise and turned to glare at her. "What'd you call me?" he snarled.  


  
The girl had dark eyes that looked black in the evening shadow, sunken deep into her milk white face. A hint of a smile touched her thin, pale lips, and she reached out a hand towards him. "Puppy," she murmured, wiggling her fingers in the air in his direction. "Good doggie."  


  
Rage started to boil in his veins. "I ain't a dog," he seethed, stalking towards her, hunching his shoulders and flexing his fingers like claws at his side. The moon was a mere crescent, but he could feel his eyes go yellow and his teeth lengthen. "Don't nobody call me a dog, _dong ma?_ 'Specially not a filthy vampire."  


  
She giggled. Nobody'd ever giggled at him before, especially not when he was being deliberately menacing. It brought him up short as he tried to process the sound. "Puppy likes to growl," the girl murmured, still wiggling her fingers at him. "Bluster and bite."  


  
"Yeah, that's right. Bite. You think I ain't gonna bite ya?" he growled, crouching in front of her and baring his sharp, gleaming teeth. "I like to bite girls."  


  
She stared at his teeth. "I have those, too," she murmured, opening her mouth to show him her canines.  


  
"Mine are bigger."  


  
"The better to eat me with," she agreed with a nod.  


  
"I ain't gonna eat ya," he snapped, feeling as if he'd somehow lost control of this conversation. "I'm gonna kill ya!"  


  
The girl tilted her head to the side and stared at him. After a moment, she whispered, "Okay," and closed her eyes, letting her hand fall into her lap.  


  
This wasn't right. He was supposed to inspire fear in vampires. It wasn't any fun if they weren't terrified of him. It was like attacking a scarecrow. "I don't think yer takin' me serious," he mused angrily, scratching his jaw. "Mebbe I won't kill ya after all. Mebbe I gotta make ya scared first. I like scarin' girls." His yellow eyes twinkled malevolently.  


  
"Okay," she mumbled, not opening her eyes.  


  
"Gorrammit!" He pounded his fist against the alley floor. "Be afraid!"  


  
"Okay." She trembled half-heartedly. "Big bad wolf."  


  
That did it. "Right, I ain't gonna kill ya," he snarled, pushing to his feet and looming over her crumpled form. "I'm gonna make ya _scream_. I'm gonna take ya home and make ya beg."  


  
"Okay."  


  
With a growl of frustration he bent down and picked her up. She was a featherweight in his arms. "I could break you like a twig, little girl," he snapped.  


  
Her eyes drifted open as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Mm-hmm," she hummed, then reached up to scratch behind his ear. "This girl has always wanted a pet," she mumbled.  


  
He tossed his head, knocking her hand aside. "What a coinky-dink," he snarled, throwing her over his shoulder and hugging the shadows as he carried her out of the alley. "So've I."  


  
  
  


\-------------------------

  


  
  
  
**TEN YEARS LATER**   


  
  
  
The mansion was a ramshackle mess set back in the woods, long overgrown by creepers, lichen, and moss. What had once been lawn had fallen prey to the steady incursion of the surrounding forest; a tree had grown up through the veranda, buckling the wood and spreading gnarled roots down into the wine cellar. The windows had been impressive once, but centuries of disrepair had left them shattered; what glass remained was smoky and jagged. The door swung on rusty hinges that creaked with the will of the wind.  


  
This was a forgotten place; an unhallowed blight, neglected by progress and caught in a bygone age. Six grave markers huddled in the backyard, under the spreading arms of a hoary oak. Wind and rain had wiped their stone faces clean, leaving no record of the proud lineage that had once inhabited this place. It was lost, unwanted; no longer a house. It had become a cave; a dark, shadowy hole in the forest that sheltered the beasts of the field. No one had called this place "home" in centuries.  


  
No human, at least.  


  
  
  


\----------------------

  


  
  
  
She'd been feeding again.  


  
Jayne could smell the blood even before he opened the door. It coated the back of his tongue with copper, assaulting his sensitive nose. If he hadn't already eaten he would have started salivating.  


  
"River!" he barked, pushing through the broken front door into the mildewed foyer. A curl of cool evening air followed him, bringing with it a flurry of dead leaves that skittered past his feet before being stopped at the base of a narrow staircase that hugged the wall. Footsteps marked a path through the thick layer of dust on the floor, bridging the distance to the stairs. It was a well-worn trail; the hardwood beneath was shiny with use.  


  
"River!" he barked again, prowling his way up the stairs. They creaked and groaned under his weight. "River girl, you come out now!" He sniffed the air; the scent of blood was stronger now. "You come out! Don't make me find you!" It didn't matter that he'd already eaten; the tang of blood was making his mouth water anyway.  


  
"Don't make me find you," he snarled under his breath as he crested the top of the stairs, high on the third floor. She liked to stay in high places. "You know I always find you."  


  
There was no dust here; River was a tidy housekeeper. She'd even hung makeshift curtains on the windows, made from the lacy remnants of her least favorite clothes. The old furniture had been reclaimed from rot and burnished to a high gloss. The doors had been fixed, and the best of the remaining windows had been transferred from other areas of the house to fill the worst of the holes here on the third floor. Most of the panes were still broken, but they seemed more uniform. More complete. Tidy.  


  
He found her in the library, sitting in a pool of moonlight on the floor. Her back was to him, her dark head bowed forward over her lap. She was wearing a white cotton nightie that hung on her like a baby doll dress; sleeveless, barely skimming the tops of her knees if she'd been standing.  


  
"River girl," Jayne growled from the doorway. The smell of blood was overpowering.  


  
Slowly, River raised her head and looked over her shoulder at him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, in stark contrast to the blood that coated her lips and trickled from the corner of her mouth. In the deep blue midnight, it looked like ink.  


  
"She didn't mean to, Puppy," she whimpered, bloody lips trembling. "Please?"  


  
His eyes zeroed in on her mouth as he felt his skin start to tingle. "You ain't in trouble, girl," he growled. "You don't gotta ask me for nothin'."  


  
"Please?" she repeated, and turned slowly to face him. Her slender white hands cradled what looked like a sleeping rabbit; but Jayne could smell the difference between sleep and death. "Please, Puppy, fix her mistake? She didn't mean to. Please, she only wanted to pet him; feel soft fur under her fingertips. He was so soft and warm; she forgot her mind." The tears were coming faster now; her voice was choking up. She held the bundle of fur up towards him, youthful face imploring.  


  
"PLEASE?" she begged, full out sobbing now. "Please fix her friend!"  


  
Jayne sighed and padded silently across the room. Kneeling down in front of her, he carefully took the dead rabbit from her trembling hands, which she immediately began to wring in her lap. The creature was still warm, though rigor mortis had already begun to set in.  


  
"He's gone, little girl," he told her, shaking his head. "Ain't nothin' I can do for him now."  


  
River let out a bone-chilling wail, falling forward against his chest and sobbing uncontrollably. "Bad, bad, she is bad!" she cried, fisting her hands in his shirt. "She kills her friends, her bubbly pets! She is the evil that walks on bare white feet!"  


  
Jayne winced, carefully setting the rabbit aside so he could twine his arms around her small waist. "Shhh, that ain't true," he soothed, pulling her into his lap. River curled her legs around his hips, burying her face in his shoulder.  


  
"You ain't evil," he murmured into her hair, rocking her gently back and forth as she cried. "You can't fight your nature none."  


  
"She should," River whimpered. "She must." A gentle prod on his arm. "You do."  


  
"We ain't talkin' 'bout me. And I ain't peppermint and roses, so don't you go tryin' to model yourself after me. I kill when I'm hungry, too."  


  
River let out a violent sob at that, then slowly drew back until she could look into his eyes. Her own eyes were bloodshot and miserable. "Puppy hasn't killed his River girl yet," she sniffled, twisting her fingers in his shirt.  


  
Jayne felt his lips twitch in a wry smile. "That's 'cause there ain't more'n a mouthful of meat on them bones," he told her, giving her rump a gentle smack. "Ain't worth the effort."  


  
River giggled, wiggling in his lap before sobering again. "She didn't mean to snack on her bunny," she mumbled, fresh tears cutting trails down her face. "He had a wriggly nose. He liked to snuffle her fingers." As if to demonstrate, she brought one pale hand up to her face and sniffled against her knuckles.  


  
Jayne circled his big hand around her frail wrist, gently tugging her hand down from her face. "'Sall right, pretty girl," he soothed. "We'll give him a nice burial, right?" _I ain't gonna eat him, though he smells damn tasty._  


  
River scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of one hand. "Like the others?" she whimpered.  


  
"Like the others," he affirmed with a nod.  


  
"Like Fluffy and Milly and Bob?"  


  
"Jus' like."  


  
River nodded, blinking her dark eyes at him. "Snuffles will like being with friends," she mumbled, leaning forward to cuddle against Jayne's chest. "Thank you, Puppy."  


  
"Ain't that what I'm here for?" he rumbled near her ear, rubbing his broad hand up and down her back. "To take care of my River girl?"  


  
"Shouldn't have to," she whispered.  


  
"Ain't gonna let no one else do it," he told her firmly.  


  
She stayed silent, though he felt her tears soaking a patch through his t-shirt; vampire tears, like drops of chilled wine. Her skin was cool, warmed faintly by the rabbit's blood, but that would fade soon enough and she'd be cold again. In contrast, Jayne's own skin was burning, the blood running hot and feral in his veins. He knew she could smell it by the way her cool nose pressed against his pulse point and her soft tongue darted out to taste his flesh.  


  
"Let's get you cleaned up first," he muttered near her ear as she quietly lapped at his neck. "Then we'll bury Snuffles."  


  
"Okay," she whispered, then went back to licking him.  


  
A shudder worked down his spine as his blood started to pump faster. "Sit up," he snarled, his hands tightening against her back. "Look at me."  


  
River obediently sat up in his lap, her dark brown eyes meeting his with absolute trust. "My puppy loves me?" she murmured.  


  
Jayne raised a hand to grip her face, his fingers pressing into her cheeks to hold her still. "You know he does, girl," he growled. "Hold still."  


  
River sighed happily and closed her eyes. Jayne grunted his approval before leaning forward to nuzzle her cheek. She giggled, then purred as he opened his mouth against hers and began dutifully lapping the blood from her lips. "Puppy is a very good mate," she cooed. "He keeps his bitch clean."  


  
Jayne just growled in response, sliding his tongue into her mouth to taste the blood that stained her sharp white canines.  


  
  
  


\--------------------

  


  
  
  
Osiris was a bustling, thriving metropolitan planet, but it hadn't always been that way. Once upon a time it had been home to the first wealthy landowners to make the trip across space, away from Earth-That-Was. Jayne remembered. Jayne had a very long memory.  


  
The mansion itself used to be an old plantation house, but as cities sprang up around it, agriculture was abandoned in favor of polished steel and gleaming spires of mirrored glass. Most of the world had succumbed to progress, but a few isolated pockets of wilderness survived. Nobody had ever bothered to clear the acres of forest around the plantation, for instance. It clung to the slummy northern edge of Capital City, where no one would notice when the occasional vagrant or prostitute disappeared. They called the woods a nature preserve, but no one ever went there. Something hung in the air; a tangible malevolence that seemed to say _Trespassers Will Never Be Seen Again_.  


  
River sang a quiet melody against Jayne's throat as he carried her through the mansion's antiquated hallways. One thing that could be said in favor of those old-time pioneers was that they'd understood the importance of indoor plumbing. The bathroom was relatively small, but the clawfoot bathtub that dominated one corner had weathered the test of time, as had the pump system that drew water up from the well. The crazy girl had somehow managed to fix it so that they could have hot and cold water, proving once again that she was a hell of a lot smarter than he was.  


  
"Whatcha singin'?" he asked, cradling her bottom with one arm as he stretched out the other hand to open the bathroom door.  


  
"Lullabies," River murmured, squeezing her legs around his waist.  


  
"What for?"  


  
A little shrug. "They're pretty."  


  
Jayne chuckled, setting her down on a stool near the fire. She let go of him, curling her legs up so she could rest her chin on her knees. "You're crazy, girl," he told her as he knelt down to stoke the embers that smoldered in the hearth from the morning's fire. Adding fresh kindling, he reached into his pocket for a box of matches.  


  
"The moon is waxing gibbous. Did Puppy eat well?" she asked, kicking her feet as she watched him light the fire.  


  
Jayne felt the skin prickle on his back. "Yep," he answered, shaking out the match and tossing it on the fire.  


  
"Did he eat human?"  


  
He could feel her dark eyes watching his profile as he shook his head and added more wood to the small fire. "Nope."  


  
"She will know if he did."  


  
"I know, baby girl."  


  
"Jayne?"  


  
He sighed and looked up to see her watching him plaintively. "Yeah, girl?"  


  
"Hunger."  


  
Snuffles was just a snack. Even a fully-grown rabbit wasn't enough to take the edge off River's appetite. "I know, baby doll," he told her, straightening up and holding out his hand. "We're gonna wash you up, then we'll get you somethin' to eat, right?"  


  
Placing her small hand in his, she let him draw her to her feet. "Okay."  


  
The front of her nightgown was covered in blood. He nodded to the stain. "You just go ahead and get undressed; lemme run the bath."  


  
"Okay."  


  
He turned away to prime the hot water pump as she quietly shed her nightgown. Most nights he liked undressing her himself, but sometimes he preferred to let her do it on her own; liked walking into the bedroom to find her kneeling, naked and smiling, in the center of the bed; or sprawled across his pillow asleep, dark hair spread out like perfect tendrils of black creeper vine, white back gleaming in the moonlight.  


  
As the tub began to fill, he turned around to find her standing where he'd left her, nude body glowing like burnished gold in the flickering firelight. There was something about the creamy swells of her hips that always made him think of cake frosting, and he felt his mouth start to water as he held out a hand toward her. "Come on," he said.  


  
Smiling brightly, she took his hand and stepped out of the circle of her nightie. There was a faint patina of dried blood on her belly where the nightgown had adhered to her skin, but what caught his eye was a red mark on her forearm. "What did that?" he demanded, pulling her closer so he could inspect it.  


  
"Snuffles," she murmured, smile fading. "He bit me so I'd stop biting him."  


  
Jayne shot her a sharp glance and saw that, sure enough, there were fresh tears perched on her lashes. Sighing, he turned his attention back to her arm and ran his tongue soothingly over the bite mark. The blood was old and tasted like sparrow. "I'll get you another one," he told her, laving the bite mark again with his tongue.  


  
"She always bites her bunnies," River mumbled miserably.  


  
"Can't blame you," he said with a shrug. "Tasty li'l morsels, rabbits."  


  
"No!" she exclaimed, pulling her arm away and pummeling his chest with her small fists. "Not food! Friends!"  


  
Jayne sighed and caught her wrists in one hand, holding her immobile. "Stop," he ordered.  


  
River's eyes had gone from brown to red. She opened her mouth, baring her canines with a hiss.  


  
Jayne stared her down, then roared at her.  


  
A werewolf could howl, and bark, and growl, and snarl, and make all the other noises a regular wolf or dog typically made; but a werewolf could also roar. In human form it was closer to a bellow, but in the throes of a full change, coming from an animal throat, it could chill the heart of a grizzly bear.  


  
Jayne felt his jaw lengthen, the joint widening to encompass the sound. River flinched away, turning her head to hide behind the curtain of her hair as the last echoes of the roar washed over her. He felt her hands unclench and let go of her wrists. Shaking his head to realign his jaw, he champed his teeth a few times then snapped, "You gonna quit it now?"  


  
River looked at him through the tendrils of her hair, red eyes replaced by her customary brown. "You did not have to yell," she complained.  


  
"You was hittin' me."  


  
"You are a bad doggie."  


  
"The worst, baby." He gave her a wolfish grin. "Ain't that why you love me?"  


  
River rolled her eyes. "Horny hound," she said, turning away from him to turn off the water and step into the steaming tub.  


  
Jayne's grin broadened. "That mean I get to hump your leg?"  


  
  
  


\------------------

  


  
  
  
"Mmmmmm," River moaned as he squeezed out the sponge over her head. She turned her face up so the water washed over her eyes and lips. "She likes that."  


  
"I know ya do," Jayne grunted, dipping the sponge back into the warm water. "That's why I do it. Uncurl a bit, girl, I gotta get at your belly."  


  
River giggled and stretched out in the tub, dipping her head back so she was submerged in water up to her hairline. Jayne chuckled as he massaged the sponge over her flat stomach. They'd been at this for twenty minutes, and she showed no signs of wanting him to stop. If there was one thing the pair of them disagreed on, it was bathing: she loved it, he didn't. He got more amenable to the idea when she'd crawl into the tub with him and soap him up with them small hands of hers; otherwise, he just contented himself with standing naked in the rain to shower and helping her burnish her cool white limbs when she washed. It always made her purr. She was purring now; he could hear her. If he'd been in wolf form, his tail would have started wagging. As it was, he'd shed his shirt to keep it from getting wet, and the hair on his chest bristled with pleasure in response to the sound.  


  
With a happy moan, River sat up in the bath, water pouring off her body. "Puppy has glorious paws," she cooed, resting her cheek on her crossed arms on the edge of the tub.  


  
"The better to touch you with," he growled, circling the sponge down her spine. River groaned, arching her back under his ministrations. "Yeah, I know you like that."  


  
"Puppy kiss," she whimpered, raising her head to nuzzle his jaw as he leaned over the side of the bathtub to rub the sponge across her tailbone. "Puppy nip, lick and bite." As if to emphasize the last, she opened her mouth against the side of his neck, nicking his skin with her razor sharp canines.  


  
Jayne shuddered, a growl rolling up his throat from the pit of his stomach. The moon wouldn't be full for another several days, which meant he couldn't change completely, but he could feel his body trying. His muscles corded like steel cables and his teeth lengthened. The world turned sharper and more focused as his eyes changed from blue to nightvision yellow. His fingernails grew, and he let go of the sponge so he could grasp her bottom under the water, enjoying her answering yelp. He dragged her further up the side of the tub, rubbing her breasts wantonly over his furry chest. River arched her back with a moan, her belly sliding against his, but he twined one hand in her wet hair and forced her upright again. She blinked at him, eyes the color of claret, sharp teeth pressing into her full bottom lip. Growling, he mashed his mouth against hers, kissing her with bruising force. River whimpered into his mouth, her hands clutching at his shoulders. He felt her teeth close, piercing his bottom lip, and she started to suck.  


  
Twin points of white hot pain flared in front of his eyes, and he howled, yanking his head away, tearing her teeth from his lip.  


  
"My Jayne," she moaned, furrowing her fingers through his hair, trying to pull him back. "I'm so _hungry!_ "  


  
Jayne sniffed the air. Even submerged in water, he could smell her arousal. "Mate," he snarled, letting the single-minded wolf side of his brain take over his speech. "NOW."  


  
Standing up, he yanked her dripping body out of the water and flung her over his muscled shoulder. She dragged her teeth along his side as he carried her from the room, and he let out a low howl at the fiery sting they left behind. Tightening his arm around her slender white legs, he bolted for the bedroom as her soft tongue hungrily lapped at the blood that trickled down his ribs.  


  
  
  


\------------------------

  


  
  
  
Their bedroom was a spacious affair, full of fluttering bed curtains and diaphanous drapes that billowed when the wind blew through the cracked windows. Jayne would have been happy with just a rug on the floor in front of the fire, but River seemed to believe there was a right and wrong way for a vampire and her werewolf lover to live, and sleeping under a moth-eaten blanket on the floor was definitely the _wrong_ way. It had taken her the better part of two years to gather all the furnishings and accessories for this room, but Jayne had to admit the end result was impressive. It looked like something out of one of them old movies he'd seen at the nickel cinema back when he was a boy, before he got bitten. One of them black and white flicks from Earth-That-Was, with buxom virgins getting their necks sucked on by the old guys with the funny accents who had the widow's peak hair.  


  
The bed alone was a thing of beauty. Before he'd hooked up with River, he'd spent as much time sleeping in the woods as holing up here at the plantation. But when she managed to steal the bed in the dead of night from one of the classier furniture stores in Capital City, he'd decided to rethink his philosophy.  


  
It was enormous; she called it king sized, but all he knew was it was BIG. She had all kinds of bedding to go with it, in shades of white, black and red, but for Jayne the only thing that mattered was how comfortable it was. And truth be told, the first night he'd crawled in beside her, they hadn't even got to sexing because he was out like a light in two minutes flat. River had pretended to be mildly offended the next morning, but he could tell she was pleased that he liked it.  


  
On nights like this one, when the lust and hunger were driving them both over the edge, he didn't even notice the bedroom. All he saw was that bed, and he made his way to it now, crossing the floor in four easy strides before flinging her down on the mattress and pinning her with his hand on her belly. "WANT," he snarled.  


  
River writhed under his hand, slender white limbs snaking across the black satin comforter. "I'm _hungry!_ " she hissed, forcing herself into a crablike sitting position despite his hand on her stomach. Her eyes had gone from claret to blood red and her canines were noticeably longer now. She lunged at him, and her teeth came together with an ominous _SNAP!_  


  
Jayne roared again and shoved her down onto the bed. Hair was bristling down his spine and across his shoulders; he could feel his eyebrows getting shaggy, his stubble filling out. Still holding her down with one broad hand, he used the other to rip open his pants, shoving them down and kicking them away. Growling, he crawled onto the bed between her smooth white legs. Batting her clawing hands aside with a snarl, he grabbed her around the waist and picked her up, as if she weighed no more than a feather, then flipped her over and dropped her on her stomach.  


  
River keened, a high-pitched shriek like the cry of a bat. Before she could scrabble around onto her back again, he placed one hand between her shoulder blades, holding her torso down against the bed. The other arm he hooked under her waist, pulling her hips up until she was kneeling, face flat in the comforter. The scent of her arousal hit his sensitive nose like a freight train. He crooned, stroking his fingers down her inner thighs.  


  
"Puuuuppy," River purred, switching tacks so that her voice was dripping with honey as she wiggled her bottom at him. "Here boy."  


  
Jayne wasn't an idiot. Even half-changed and pulsing with lust he knew she was toying with him, trying to get him to let her up so she could feed. He knew exactly whose jugular she'd be diving on if he let her do that. To a vampire, hunger and lust were two sides of the same coin. What he had to do was flip the coin.  


  
Leaning on his hand between her shoulder blades, he bent his head and pressed his mouth against her exposed folds. The remaining blood in her body had already begun to pool there, turning the moist flesh warm as he opened his mouth and slid his tongue into her sheath.  


  
He heard her choke on a moan and felt her lower body tremble, but he didn't let her up as he began to thrust his tongue in and out of her. Breathing deeply, he let the scent of her arousal wash over him. It was changing now, from zealous hunger to wanton lust. The coin was starting to turn.  


  
Growling, he heard her yelp as the vibration shuddered through her body. She wasn't struggling now; she'd gone still and pliant under his hand. He knew if he looked up he'd see her eyes closed, mouth parted slightly, dark hair spread messily around her head as she focused all her attention on his tongue. Her breath was coming in quick, staccato bursts, like a breathless bird.  


  
She mewed and he felt her walls flutter around his tongue. Good. That meant she was ready to come. Now that he had her attention...  


  
He pulled away. "Nooooooooo," she moaned, sliding her hands backwards to grasp at his thighs, his forearms. "Jayne... My Jayne..."  


  
Rumbling quietly, he nuzzled his way up her back, stopping when he reached the nape of her neck so he could bury his nose in her silky, perfumed hair. River was whimpering; he could hear the sound close to his ear. A low, steady growl began to pour past his lips as he slid a hand under her body to squeeze her stomach. Fitting his hips snug against her backside, he angled forward and pushed.  


  
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," River groaned, arching her neck, tossing more rich, exotic hair across his face. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"  


  
She was wet and ready for him, and he slid home easily. Gritting his teeth and digging his fingers into her soft belly, he began to thrust, feeling each stroke add fuel to the fire that already burned in his pelvis. Her body was cool as it surrounded and accepted him, but the friction and his heat were quickly warming her up.  


  
Spreading his knees, he bumped her legs further apart, dropping her body lower and giving him better access as he started to pick up his pace. River keened, arching her back, rubbing her breasts against the comforter. "Oh oh oh," she panted, then cried out as his hand moved down from her stomach and his thick fingers pressed into her folds, toying with her clit and massaging her sensitive labia. "OH! OHHHHHHHHH! Yes! YES!"  


  
Jayne finally raised his head from her hair and gazed over her shoulder at her face. River had her head thrown back, face painted with deep concentration, biting her lip in ecstasy. Her tooth had pierced her lip, and a small bead of blood was poised on her pale pink lip. With a grunt and a huff, he leaned over her shoulder and darted out his tongue to lick the blood away. It tasted like rabbit and River.  


  
River whined and cooed, bumping her nose against his and running her tongue over his lips. "Make me come, Puppy?" she panted, then moaned. "Make me come? Ohhhhhhhhh, you always make me so _waaaarm..._ " Her head drooped forward as a shudder shook her delicate body. Jayne winced as he felt her muscles quiver and tighten around him, hanging on by a hairsbreadth.  


  
"Mmmmmm..." He nuzzled her shoulder, running a lazy tongue up her neck to her ear. Moving his hand away from her clit so he could wind his arm around her hips, he sat back on his haunches, bringing her with him, so that she sank deeper onto his cock.  


  
"YES YES YES!" she exclaimed, head thrashing on his shoulder. "PUPPY _PLEASE!_ "  


  
Raising his other arm, he pressed his forearm against her mouth. Squeezing his hand into a fist, he watched the veins stand out like lines on a roadmap.  


  
"Bite me," he growled near her ear.  


  
River sobbed in relief and desperation. Her small hands came up to grip his forearm. Placing a gentle, shaking kiss just below his elbow, she opened her mouth, sank her teeth into him, and began to drink. An instant later she sobbed again and began to suck harder, digging her nails into his skin as her lower body bore down on his and she came. Her inner walls clenched around him like a vise, milking his cock with the same pulsing suction as her mouth on his arm.  


  
The dual sensation was too much, and Jayne threw back his head and howled as he came, filling her body with swirling warmth.  


  
They stayed like that for a full minute. Jayne pressed his forehead against her shoulder, panting as he felt his wolfish characteristics slowly begin to subside. Tilting them to the side, he carefully stretched out with River hunched on her knees in front of him. The girl was still drinking from his arm, and he kissed the crown of her hair before resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes with a sigh.  


  
  
  


\---------------------

  


  
  
  
It might have been a minute later, maybe longer, when Jayne felt the pressure below his elbow lessen, replaced by an aching, stinging pain. A soft, warm tongue passed over the bite, followed by a tender kiss. He opened his eyes as River shuffled around onto her side and cuddled against his chest, liquid brown eyes flooded with tears.  


  
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her teeth had gone back to normal, with only the hint of a point on her canines.  


  
"Don't gotta be sorry," he rumbled, leaving his sore arm stretched out on the bed as he brought the other up to stroke her hair.  


  
"Someday she will be able to hunt," she whimpered, blinking and sending a cascade of tears down her cheeks. They were flushed with fresh blood.  


  
"Don't want you killin'," he told her sternly, spreading his hand against her back to hold her close. "You ain't got it in ya t'kill."  


  
"She is a killer," River whispered, gazing miserably up into her face. "It is what she has been made. It is what she must do to survive."  


  
"Don't want you killin'," he repeated. Sliding his hand up her back, he fought down his rage as he pressed his fingers to the faded scar on the side of her neck; twin puncture marks on either side of her neck, just beside her jugular. "If I ever find the _hun dan_ assholes what turned you, River girl, I'm gonna make 'em wish they wasn't immortal. Gonna make 'em wish they'd died long ago." He ran his thumb over her lips; they were moist and pink and plump and warm. "You oughtn't ever of been made a vampire, baby doll. Whoever done it broke a beautiful girl."  


  
She smiled shakily, fresh tears coursing down her cheek as she kissed his thumb. "Is that why you kept me?" she murmured. "Why you live in this house? Do you love broken things?"  


  
Jayne chuckled. "Naw." He shook his head and gently nuzzled her nose. "Love you, though."  


  
River giggled, then closed her mouth around his thumb with a sigh, sucking gently.  


  
Jayne smiled and kissed her forehead. "You let me do the huntin'," he murmured against her hairline. "You let me do the killin'. I don't mind sharin'."  


  
He was tired. River wouldn't need to eat again for several days, and by then he would be in the throes of the Change and would be able to strengthen himself up plenty. Maybe he'd eat a deer. River always loved essence of venison.  


  
Closing his eyes, he let the suction of her mouth send him off to sleep.  


  
  
  


\-------------------------

  


  
  
  
**EPILOGUE**   


  
  
  
Hours later River was still awake, watching Jayne sleep. He had a tendency to huff and puff in his sleep, just like the big bad wolf from stories. It was supposed to be scary, but River loved it. His breath was warm and coppery as it brushed over her face and she smiled.  


  
They never should have happened, her and Jayne. He was a werewolf and he hated her kind. Centuries of life separated them. Jayne still hadn't told her how old he really was; River thought it was because he was afraid she'd be shocked and might shrink away. She didn't know how to tell him it didn't matter to her how old he was; that he could have been born on Earth-That-Was and it wouldn't bother her. She'd tried to form the words but they always came out wrong; garbled and nonsensical. Jayne indulged her and pretended to understand what she was saying, which was almost as frustrating as not making sense at all. The vampires who had turned her didn't know how badly they were cursing her when they doomed her to an eternity with this damned insanity.  


  
It scared her how angry Jayne became when he touched her scars. That was the only thing about him that ever scared her. She truly didn't know if her sires were alive or dead, but she knew for certain that if Jayne ever found them alive, he was going to tear them limb from limb and make them feel every moment of pain.  


  
She didn't want him to. She didn't want him going anywhere near them. They were dangerous; vampires that were feared even by other vampires. She had no idea what kind of evil could inspire that kind of fear in the undead, but she couldn't bear the thought of them touching her beautiful, glorious wolf. He thought he was immortal, but nobody was ever _really_ immortal. Vampires turned to ash in the sun, and werewolves had a heartbeat. Anything with a heartbeat could be killed. If they touched him... if they put their hands on him...  


  
...Their vile, blue-gloved hands...  


  
She shivered, suddenly aware of the cold night air. The fact that she could feel it at all made her want to cry. He gave her so much, her magnificent wolf; he gave her the blood from his veins. He made her feel. He made her real. And all he ever asked in return was that she be there in the morning. She thought he'd lived too many years by himself, a lone wolf in every sense of the word. He'd never turned anyone; if he bit, he did it to kill, not to change. Sometimes she wondered about that. If he'd been so lonely for so very long, why hadn't he ever chosen a mate?  


  
Maybe he'd just been waiting to find the right one.  


  
Her lips curled in a tender smile as she stroked her fingers through his unruly hair. "You never thought it would be me, did you?" she murmured, and kissed his whiskery chin. "My Puppy."  


  
He whined in his sleep and batted at his ear as if swiping away a fly.  


  
River laughed silently and slowly sat up, stretching luxuriously. She couldn't walk in the daylight like Jayne, so she spent her nights awake. Sometimes she went outside. Sometimes she stayed in. Tonight she thought she'd stay with her Jayne. Her legs were sore anyway, and his body was pleasantly warm.  


  
Crawling away from him, she tugged and grunted and yanked and pulled until she'd managed to drag the blankets down enough that she could crawl underneath. It was much more difficult getting Jayne to shift around until she could get the covers out from under his impressive bulk, but over the years she'd perfected a method of gentle tickling that made the process go faster.  


  
Giggling at the look of consternation that crossed his sleeping face, River finally managed to tug the blankets free and pulled them up to cover the both of them in a warm, silky cocoon. Sitting up against the headboard, she gently coaxed Jayne towards her until she was able to settle his head in her lap. He yawned, face stretching, teeth gleaming in the starlight, then settled down again, burying his nose in the hollow behind her knee. River giggled, nibbling her fingertips as her free hand stroked down his broad back. "Sleep sweet, Puppy," she cooed, petting him rhythmically.  


  
A soft, contented rumble in his chest vibrated against her other knee, and she grinned.  


  
_Thump... thump..._   


  
River looked up, frowning at the sound. "Hello?" she whispered to the cool night air. She wasn't afraid – there wasn't much that could scare a vampire, especially not when she had Jayne sleeping in her lap. But she was confused. This was a new sound, yet it seemed... familiar.  


  
_Thump... thump..._   


  
It was getting steadily louder. It sounded like it was coming from near the foot of the bed.  


  
Frowning with concentration, River leaned her upper body to the side so she could peer over the edge of the bed.  


  
Her eyes widened: first with surprise, then with delight.  


  
" _SNUFFLES!_ " she enthused, trying to keep her voice quiet so she wouldn't wake the man in her lap. "Bunny!"  


  
Sure enough, Snuffles was hopping his way towards her from the foot of the bed. Besides the blood that matted some of his fur, and the fact that he had a red glint in his eyes, he seemed none the worse for wear.  


  
River was quivering with happiness as she stretched her arm down so the rabbit could hop onto her hand, and she scooped him up to cuddle lovingly against her chest. He was cool, but his fur was still gloriously soft, and she buried her face between his floppy ears, whimpering happily.  


  
"Oh, Snuffles," she cooed, showering him with kisses. "You are such a good bunny! You bit your mommy when she bit you, and that made you a vampire, too! A vampire bunny! Oh, Snuffles!" She hugged him tightly. "She does not know what to feed you! Do you suck carrot juice? Will she need to teach you to hunt mice? Oh Snuffles!"  


  
Jayne shifted in her lap and she toned down her squealing so she wouldn't wake him. The man she loved was sleeping beside her, she was warm and cozy and rosy pink, and her pet bunny was snuffling her fingers, just like he'd always done. She could die happy.  


  
Good thing she wasn't going to be doing that anytime soon.  


  
  
  
  
  
**THE END**


End file.
